Lock for trunks.



No. 669,507. Patent-ed Mar. l2, Ism. R. CLAUGHTON.

LOCK FOR TRUNKS.

(Application led Oct. 9, 1900. uw man 2 Smets-subst ,Wim l No.-;669,5o7.Patented Mar. l2, lam.

n. cLAuGHToN.

LOCK FUR T/RUNKS.

(Application med oct. 9. 1900.

@lo Model.) l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

3u 11cm toz NTTSE STATES intron.

RODOLPHE CLAUGI-ITON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LOCK FOR TRUNKS.

SPECIFICATION forming* part Of Letters Patent NO. 669,507, dated March12, 1901. Application filed October 9, 1900. Serial No. 32,521. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, RoDoLPHE CLAUGHTON,

acitizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the 'Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locksfor Trunks, of which the following is a specification. n My inventionrelates to fastenings or locks for trunks, valises, and the like, and ismore particularly adapted for use in connection with a so-calledtelescoping trunk or valiseg and the object of the invention is toprovide a simple, cheap, and effective means for securing and fasteningsuch trunks; and to these ends my invention consists in the variousfeatures of construction and arrangement of parts having 4the mode ofoperation substantially as hereinafter more particularly set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective viewof a two-part telescoping trunk or valise, the parts being separated,showing my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged partialtransverse vertical section through the upper part of the-trunk. Fig.Sis a detail plan view showing the locking device in position, and Fig.4 is a perspective view of the preferable form of hook.

My presentinvention maybe said to be an improvement on thesubject-matter of my Patent No. 631,775, granted August 29, 1899, and,like that invention, while it is adapted to many and variousl uses, itis more particularly applicable to telescoping trunks or valises, andfor that reason I have chosen to illustrate my invention in connectionwith such a structure.

The object of my present invention is to improve and simplify suchstructures, at the same time making them more effective, and especiallyproviding locking means which are operative whichever Way the topportion is put onto the lower portion of the trunk, and with thisgeneral statement I will now describe the construction and arrangementof parts shown in the drawings.

The two portions or parts of an ordinary telescoping trunk or valise areshown at A A', the portion A being arranged tofit over and practicallyinclose the sides and ends of the portion A', and this upper portion Amay be provided with any suitable handle, as A2. Arranged in connectionwith the upper part of the sides of the lower portion A is an interiorstrap B, adapted to extend across the open side of said lower portionand being of sufficient length to cover the articles in the trunk,whether or not they are extended above the upper edge, and this strapnot only serves to hold the articles compactly in position, but servesalso as a means for supporting one portion of the fastening device.

Mounted on the strap B in the present instance is a hook C, which isprovided with an eye portion C, adapted to engage lrhe strap, so thatthe hook can slide freely thereon. The hook, as shown more particularlyin Fig. 4, comprises an upright portion c, connected to theY eye O, andextending from said upright and projecting downward on one or both sides(preferably both) are the hook portions proper, c' c2, constituting adouble hook.

While the object of my invention can be accomplished by the use of asingle hook portion, it Ais, preferable to have two hook portions,either one of which can be used to engage the lock-plate in the mannerhereinafter set forth, so that whatever way the upper portion A iscaused to embrace the lower portion A a hook will be presented in properposition for engaging with the lock-plate.

Connected to the hook is a bar C2, which serves as a handle and by meansof which the hook can be more readily grasped and placed in or displacedfrom locking position. Any other suitable form of handle may be used;but that shown is eective and satisfactory.

The upper portion A of the trunk is provided With an opening ct in someconvenient position, preferably near its center, and secured to thisportion is what may be called a keeper-plate D, it being riveted to theupper portion or otherwise securely attached in any suitable manner.This keeper-plate is provided with an opening d, substantiallycorresponding with the opening et in the upper portion A, and it is alsoprovided with some means for engagement with the hook C, and in thepresent instance I have shown an extension D' in the form of a lip,being preferably made in one piece with the keeper- IOO plate, thematerial being bent downward and laterally'and extending Withinthetrunk, as best shown in Fig. 2. It is evident, however, that 'thisextension or lip may be otherwise made and connected to the keeper-plateor to the portion A, although the construction shown is exceedinglysimple and effective.

Connected to the keeper-plate is a lockplate E, and in the presentinstance it is shown as hinged to the keeper-plate at e and as beingprovided with a suitable lock F, so arranged and connected to thelock-plate that when the plate is closed and locked the bolt of the lockengages the keeper-plate and secures the parts together. In the presentinstance the lock F is so arranged on the lockpl ate that when it isclosed it projects through the opening d in the keeper-plate and thebolt f engages the under surface of the keeperplate. It is evident thatthe lock-plate can be otherwise attached to or connected with thekeeper-plate and that it could be made to swing or slide, as shown in myprior patent, the only requirement being that it shall be so arrangedthat when it is closed and locked the hook shall be maintained in itsfastening position, so as to hold the portions A and A together andprevent their being tampered with by unauthorized persons.

The mode of using this device will be readily understood by -thoseskilled in the art, and the parts being separated, as shown in Fig. l,the portion A' is packed with the-desired articles and the strap Badjusted to coniine them and the hook C moved to a proper position tocorrespond with the opening a in the upper portion and the opening d inthe keeperplate. The upper or cover portion A is then caused to embracethe lower portion A', and the hook O can be readily grasped by thehandle C2 or otherwise and one of the hooks caused to engage the lip orextension D of the keeper-plate, and then the parts are in positionsubstantially as shown in Fig. 2. The lock-plate is then closed andsecured, and it will be seen that the two portions of the trunk aresecured together and can only be separated by first operating thelock-plate so that the hook can be disengaged from the lip or extension.

It will thus be seen that this construction is not only simple andlight, but that it effectively secures the parts together,obviating thenecessity of external straps.

1. In a two-part trunk, one of the parts having an interior strapadapted to extend across the open side of said part and a hook mountedon the strap, and the other part having an eX- tension or lip with whichthe hookis adapted to engage, substantially as described.

2. In a two-part trunk, the combination with a hook connected to theinside of one of the parts, of a keeper-plate secured to the other partand havinga lip extending Within the trunk and adapted to engage withthe hook, and means for securing the hook and keeper-plate together,substantially as described.

V3. In a two-part trunk, the combination with a hook adj ustablyconnected to one part, of a keeper-plate secured to the other parthaving an opening and a lip, and a lock-plate connected to thekeeper-plate for closing the opening and securing the hook in position,substantially as described.

4C. In a two-part trunk, the combination with an in terior strap adaptedto extend across the open side of one part and a hook mounted thereon,of akeeper-plate havingaportion engaging the hook secured to the otherpart,

and means for securing the parts together, A

name to this specification in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

RODOLPHE CLAUGHTON.

Witnesses:

E. GREEN, D. E. CoHENs, EMIL DIcKINsoN, j DAVID LoEBELsoN.

